Chelsea midfielder Jorginho has revealed that he altered his famed penalty run-up due to his history with Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
The Italian scored the only goal of the game as Chelsea got their Premier League season off to the ideal start thanks to a 1-0 victory over Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday evening.
Ben Chilwell was brought down by Blues midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure during first-half stoppage time, leaving Craig Pawson with no choice but to award a penalty and ultimately punish Frank Lampard's side who had enjoyed a bright first 45 minutes of the new season.
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However, when taking his penalty, the midfielder seemingly ditched his renowned hop-skip and a jump run-up in favour of a more low-key approach as he kept his head down and smashed his effort into the bottom left corner.
Speaking in his post-match interview with Sky Sports, the 30-year-old revealed that his decision for a more subtle run-up was influenced by the penalty Pickford saved during their meeting in last summer's Euro 2020 final.
"You think about it (the Euro 2020 miss), you work during the week thinking about what the keeper might do at that moment," said Jorginho. "I took the decision, fortunately, it was the right decision.
"For me, penalties are like 75 per cent in the head. I thought a lot about it and trained, fortunately, today it went well. "
With England and Italy inseparable after 120 minutes of action during last summer's Euro 2020 final, penalties were required at Wembley stadium. Leading 3-2 after four spot-kicks, Jorginho was handed the chance to secure Italy's third triumph in the competition as he lined up for the fifth spot-kick.
However, the Everton shot-stopper, Pickford, bided his time as the Italian went through his unique run-up before diving down to his right to tip the Chelsea man's effort onto the post.
Despite the save, the Three Lions would go on to lose the penalty shoot-out as Arsenal winger Bakayo Saka missed the subsequent penalty in England's first major final since 1966.
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